Handy Light for iPhone's dirty little secret: tethering (update)
By Ross Miller 
posted July 20th 2010 8:46PM
posted July 20th 2010 8:46PM
You may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone pay 99 cents for an iPhone app whose sole purpose is to flash bright, solid colors? We certainly wouldn't recommend it, but Handy Light has a great little Easter egg that undoubtedly doesn't jive with the folks at Cupertino HQ. Like Nullriver's Netshare app before it, this little piece of software allows for SOCKS proxy tethering, without having to sign up for AT&T's tethering plan. Instructions available via the video below, and if you're looking to pick up the app yourself, better hurry -- we can't imagine Apple will let this one stay in the store for very much longer.Update: Looks like the app's been pulled. Ye who snoozes, ergo must lose. If you did manage to nab and the video below isn't working (we see it just fine), check out App Shopper for more detailed, text-based instructions.
How many apple-related posts can you guys write in one day?
@Kimmie
While I don't like the numerous pointless apple post that get posted. This is news worthy. It heups people get an app that will be gone by tommorowv and that app does something that fuzzing rocks and saves people money
@Kimmie This could be useful for the people still using the 3GS, but for you iPhone 4 users with your crippled data plans, why bother to download this App? Oh Yeah Engadget remember snitches get stitches...
@DefPoet
You're most definitely right. I guess I'm just a bit frustrated
@Kimmie,
As many as it takes to cover the Apple news of the day. It's great, I love it.
@liftedngifted1 except att let people upgrade while keeping their old plans. Troll fail!!
@liftedngifted1 : Oh yah, because some people grandfathered in their Unlimited data plan.
@Kimmie more than 1
@Kimmie The app is already in the top 25!! #4 To be exact lol
@maztec
Thank God I got grandfathered in... AT&T better not try to change that in the future.
As a side note, I'm typing this from my MBP which is tethered through Handy Light right now. This is one little message that I can send to Randall Stephenson without being arrested :p
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd it's gone from the app store.
@maztec Yeah I did
@liftedngifted1
Dunno about other people, but knowing video chat, gaming, etc were bound to happen over 3G one way or another, I just stuck with the unlimited plan on my iPhone 4 ;)
@SskyNnet
I can see why it's in the top 10 list already...
FIVE DESIGNER COLORS? Brilliant!
@Kimmie
The fact that there's a 12" Powerbook in the video made this post worth it for me. I love that model.
@Kimmie
"You're most definitely right. I guess I'm just a bit frustrated"
What's wrong with your life that something as minute as the number of Apple posts on a website gets you frustrated? As long as other relevant cell phone news isn't being "unreported", what's the big deal?
@DefPoet
Epic App, with Epic Video Music (was that old Street Fighter or something?)
@Kimmie this is a genius ideas
@Kimmie NOOOOOOOOO!!! IT'S GONE!!! Damn it I missed my chance
@liftedngifted1 Works on my iPhone 4. Which I still have the unlimited plan :)
@DefPoet that's pretty 1337 indeed
@DefPoet I don't like the iphone. But this is sooo awesome. I am glad he stuck it to jobs, and AT&T. Everyone should put that code into all of the apps.
@JordanClay
I don't really think he stuck anything to Jobs (who enabled tethering back in 3.0.) He did stick it to the pricks at AT&T though.
@dorothymantooth (and Win users) I can confirm that it DOES work on PC. Win 7 working solid. Just be sure to set a static IP on your adapter too (I used 13.37.13.36 for my PC and .37 for the phone) oh and make sure you use the same subnet as your phone. I also used the IP of the proxy as my router, too... Chrome is working good (which is all I care about)...
Thanks for sharing this nice blog articles.
website design
professional seo
website optimizer
@Kimmie how long before an update that breaks the functionality?
@Inoname ditto iphone4 4.0.1
@Testies Testies 12 3
Maybe Engadget and the rest of the blogs should have said to buy it, we will tell you a secret about it tomorrow...
@Inoname can you send me a copy? Even if you paid for it I still can buy it not being in the store. llmo128@gmail.com
@Kimmie
See if this particular app were on the Android Market (no need, already plenty) it wouldn't matter if it were removed. Why not? Because you don't have to go through the Market to get an app on an Android Phone. You can download any .apk file. Unlike a certain other App process... *cough Apple cough*
@Kimmie: holy cow, that dude made a pretty useless for most people app with 5 colors to most people, with an easter egg, which once posted all over the interwebz, he probably has say, oh, say a lot of thousands of dollars in his hands now..... I hope he gets paid in full by Apple, genius like that needs to be rewarded. Uprank if you agree.
And, even though I didn't get the app [DANG IT!], Thank you Nick Lee, for a great service to the entire world of iPhone users.
Got it!
SUCK IT AT&T!
@Apple Fan
And for anyone who can't find the app when searching from their phone: search for the developer's name, Nick Lee, and it will be at the bottom of the list.
@Apple Fan
Why do you guys need to pay extra for this? I don't have to in Sweden. I just plug in my device!
@Apple Fan
PAH!, I accidentally bought iHandy Light! Watch out for that!
@Apple Fan
Rofl. I thought this was what the app approval process was for...
@Mike10010100
You stink of fanboy.
@tobsmonster2
You have GOT to be kidding me.
@Lundmark
It is harder to maintain a national cellular infrastructure in the US than it is to in Sweden. Also, AT&T has 85,000,000 customers vs just 8,300,000 people that live in Sweden. That is a lot of bandwidth being eaten up by smartphones here.
@Apple Fan
Second that!
@Firewave
Doh! I just did the same thing. Getting the message that the item I tried to buy is unavailable!
@dfresh Um, yeah, exactly...our carriers have a TON more money to play with, and yet we are dead last on connectivity globally, coming in behind many third world countries. The problem is excessive corporate greed and putting profits over customer retention and satisfaction. They have shareholders to please, and massive CEO bonuses to pay..the customer gets the short end of everything. Well, when Nokia rolls out that 4G network nationwide, we'll see how long AT&T and the rest can keep playing the cheap-ass game. I think in four years there may be a lot of happy Meebo users roaming the land :)
@Lundmark AT&T is to blame, in Canada I can tether via USB or Bluetooth to Rogers just fine.
@dfresh It's percentages of smartphones user and percentages of users in an area that matter/available bandwidth. Sheer number of users is meaningless. Think of it like this. Is it easier to keep a network in NYC versus the boondocks?
# of people is less relevant than people like you always claim.
@juanvaldez percentage of users in an area was supposed to be:
people/sq mi...ppl/sq km.
Also, the profitability per customer is important.
@Apple Fan
I wonder how many devs there have been (or will be) that try at least to get this feature hidden in their ...
Holy ship! Did tobsmonster2 just call Mike10010100 a fanboy?
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Classic!
Yeah, pay .99 cents then have Apple rip it from the store. How does this make it past the approval process? Surely Apple had to see the little "Easter Egg" in the coding.
@Statusnone88 That would mean Apple actually tests things when going through the approval process.
@Statusnone88
It would be absurd to think apple goes through every single line of code they accept.
@Statusnone88 Apple doesn't see the code, they just get a binary.